Last man reporting, Brandon Spikes back in Foxboro

Author(s):

Jeff Howe

Now that linebacker Brandon Spikes is in the house, it’s time to see what the Patriots thought of his absence.

The three-year veteran arrived at Gillette Stadium yesterday for the start of the team’s mandatory minicamp, according to a source. He was the only Patriots player to pass on the opening eight weeks of their voluntary offseason workout program, which essentially serves as a prolonged buildup to this week’s grand finale.

Spikes instead chose to work out at Bommarito Performance in Florida. The high-profile facility is considered to provide some of the best offseason training programs for NFL athletes, and clients have included Pats tight ends Rob Gronkowski and Aaron Hernandez and former Patriots slot receiver Wes Welker.

Spikes first attended Bommarito last offseason, and he had the best year of his career in 2012, which likely led to his decision to return for another run. Two weeks ago, Pete Bommarito told the Herald that his staff has been impressed by Spikes’ efforts to improve his power, speed and explosion.

Spikes, who will return to Bommarito after minicamp, did not skip the voluntary workouts as a statement about being in the final season of his contract, according to a source. It’s also worth noting Spikes doesn’t have a workout bonus this offseason, so he didn’t forfeit any money.

Now, we will find out if Spikes sacrificed his standing on the depth chart as a starting inside linebacker, if only temporarily. The Patriots have a versatile group of linebackers who should create some intriguing camp battles in certain personnel packages. If all goes according to plan, Spikes would start inside of Jerod Mayo and Dont’a Hightower again in 4-3 sets, and those three would also remain together in the 3-4, along with the potential to mix and match a handful of others at outside linebacker, such as Rob Ninkovich, Jamie Collins and Chandler Jones.

But there’s a lot to clear up before then. Dane Fletcher, who returned from a torn ACL, took Spikes’ spot at starting inside linebacker, and he played well in the three organized team activities that were open to the media. Fletcher is better in pass coverage, but he doesn’t have Spikes’ playmaking skills that resulted in five loud forced fumbles last season.

Obviously, the depth chart in mid-June has little bearing on the way things shake out when training camp progresses from late July into August. This week, the question is Spikes’ location on it. Will the Patriots force him to work up from the bottom, throw him right into the mix to send a message and find out how much of the playbook he retained, or simply rotate him with Fletcher in the starting unit?

Spikes reported yesterday to take his physical with the rest of the team, and the Pats take the field today for the first of three consecutive practice days. The linebacker intended throughout the offseason to arrive this week, and now that it’s time to go to work, the Patriots will eye Spikes’ progression to see if he can show that he made the right decision.